


The Dying Part

by Sasa_Q



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Pre-Qcard, Q and Picard talk about death among other things, Q cries for the first time, Sad Q (tm), if you want to see it that way - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24247396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasa_Q/pseuds/Sasa_Q
Summary: Turned into a human and residing on the Enterprise, Q calls Picard late at night because of something very peculiar: his eyes appear to be leaking.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	The Dying Part

It had been a long day. Every day had been a long day ever since Q arrived on the Enterprise, claiming to have been turned into a human, without any of his powers. Dealing with Q was exhausting. Picard needed a good night's sleep. He got into bed and fell asleep quickly. He was dreaming about one of the Enterprise's recent missions. He was contacting the away team and Riker was telling him that all was well on the surface of the planet, and then suddenly, Riker said, in a voice that was not his own, "Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc."

Picard awoke with a start. He at first thought someone was in the room with him, but that was not the case. No, someone was contacting him. "Jean-Luc," said an irritatingly familiar voice. "Jean-Luuuc. Are you awake?"

"What is it, Q?" Picard grumbled. So that's who had woken him up. He couldn't say he was surprised. Q had disturbed his day so much, of course he wanted to disturb his night.

"Nothing?" Q said weakly.

"Q?" Picard said. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Q assured him.

"Then go back to bed and stop bothering me," Picard said.

Q paused for a moment. Then he admitted, "There is something wrong."

Oh, excellent, Picard thought. "Well? What is it?"

There was no response for several moments. Then: "My eyes appear to be leaking."

"Leaking? What do you mean?" asked Picard.

"I was just lying in bed thinking and then my eyes started leaking," said Q. "Is that bad? I'm worried I might be dying."

Picard propped himself up in bed. "Q, it's called crying," he said. "Pretty much all humans do it."

"Why am I crying? What is crying?" Q asked. "It's not stopping!"

"I don't know!" Picard said. He was getting frustrated. "What were you thinking about when you started crying?"

"Oh I don't know," said Q. "About how I'm never going to be a part of the Q Continuum again. About how I'm going to have to live the rest of my life as a human. About how worthless and meaningless my life is. That I'm going to have to die some day. That some day I just... won't exist. It terrifies me."

"Of course you're crying," said Picard. "You're thinking about depressing things, Q. That makes it worse."

"Well, how come it won't stop?" Q asked.

"Are you still thinking about those things?" asked Picard. "The things that made you cry?"

"I can't stop thinking about them!" Q said. "No matter how I try, I can't get it out of my head. Jean-Luc, I... I don't want to die. I don't want to be a human. I'm scared."

Picard sighed. He wanted Q to be quiet so he could go back to sleep, but some part of him felt sorry for him. He had lived his whole life as immortal and omnipotent. Suddenly, he was human, and faced with the mortal reality of life and death. Picard knew that he himself would be scared, too.

"Q," he said, "I'm going to come to your quarters."

"I forgot where they are," said Q. There was a noise in the background like he was sniffling.

"Never mind about that, I'll find you," said Picard. "I'll... see you in a few minutes. Picard out."

Picard rolled out of bed and groaned. He couldn't believe he was doing this. For Q, of all people. I suppose he really is a person, now, Picard thought. If what he's saying is really true. He got dressed in a spare uniform. He felt an overwhelming urge to just go back to bed, but he had promised Q, and he hated to break a promise, even to someone like Q.

"Computer," he said, "locate Q." Now that he was a human, supposedly, his life signs showed up on the sensors. The computer told him where Q's room was, and Picard set off into the hallways and down the turbolift. It had been a while since he was in this part of the ship.

When he found the room, he pressed the button for entry. "Come in," Q's voice responded.

Picard entered. Q was sitting at the end of his bed. "Jean-Luc!" he said. "You actually came!"

"I told you I would, so I did," Picard said gruffly. "Now, how do you feel?" He had stopped crying, but there were still tear trails on his face, and his eyes were red.

Q tried to smile. His lips trembled as he did so. "Awful," he said. "How do you deal with it? Crying?"

"I don't do it very often," said Picard.

"Lucky you," said Q.

"Tell me about about how you feel," said Picard.

"Your Counselor Troi was right about one thing," said Q. "On the day I arrived here, she said I was... terrified. I suppose I am. Being a human is terrifying. I feel so cut off from the universe. Without the rest of the Continuum at the back of my mind, I feel so alone."

Picard sat next to him. "You aren't alone," he said, but he knew it wasn't true. Q was on a ship full of people who hated him. He was cut off from the rest of the Q Continuum. He was powerless. He was more than alone. He was desolate.

Q laughed bitterly. "You and I both know that's not true," he said. "I really am alone."

"I'm trying my best to help you, Q," said Picard.

"Oh, I know," said Q. "You are helping, you know. By being here with me. I know you hate me. That's understandable. I wish it weren't so. I'm human now. You have the upper hand. Q the defenseless!" He laughed again. His laugh sounded utterly miserable. "I wish I could get it through to you that I really am your friend, Jean-Luc."

"Q, let's get back on topic," said Picard. "What makes you so afraid of being a human?"

"Being without my powers, mostly," said Q. He paused. "Fine. The dying part. I've never had to deal with death as a Q. I've been comfortable knowing I'm immortal. To suddenly be mortal... it's horrifying. To have to consider the very real prospect that someday I will die... it's awful. How do you stand it?"

"I try not to think about it, to be perfectly honest with you," said Picard. "If I think about it too long, it's distressing. I just try to live life the way I think to be right. To make my actions mean something. To realize that whatever I do, that's how I'm going to be remembered by the ones who love me."

"What if you don't have ones who love you?" asked Q.

"Oh, Q, pretty much everyone has someone who loves them. They might just not realize it," said Picard. "Take you, for example. The Continuum. There's got to be someone in the Continuum who cares about you."

Q shook his head. "Caring about people is a taboo in the Continuum," he said. "Qs don't care about each other."

"Don't you care about anyone, then?" Picard asked.

Q just stared at him. Picard stared back. Then he realized what Q meant.

"You can't be serious, Q," he said. "You can't possibly care about me."

"But I do!" said Q. "I guess I'm just not very good at showing it."

"That's putting it lightly," said Picard.

"You see, I never cared for anyone before," said Q. "I didn't know what the feeling was. I was worried there was something wrong with me. I still think something might be."

Picard sighed. "Are you sure it's caring you're feeling? Not rivalry? Hate, even?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Q said defensively. "I care about you, Jean-Luc."

"Mon dieu," Picard muttered.

"Sorry," said Q.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Picard asked. "You never say sorry."

"I suppose it's a human weakness," said Q.

"Something like that," said Picard. "Feeling any better, Q?"

"I think so," Q said.

Picard stood. "Good," he said. "Then my job is done."

"My life is still meaningless and worthless," said Q. "And I'm still going to die someday. But I do feel a bit better. Thank you."

Picard smiled. "That's reassuring." He paused. "Q, you are a human now. At least, you say you are. And you appear to be. If you want, I can arrange you to talk to Counselor Troi about your feelings."

Q snorted. "She'd never listen to me," he said. "I'd prefer to talk with you."

Picard sighed. "I'm the captain of the Enterprise. I'm not available all the time."

"But you got up in the middle of the night for me," Q pointed out. "That must mean you care about me at least a bit."

Picard turned. "Goodnight, Q," he said.

"I'm right and you know it!" Q called as Picard walked out of the room.

Picard walked back to his quarters. He couldn't help but smile to himself. He could have never imagined that one day, he would be consoling Q of all people about death and mortality. He supposed the tables really had turned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you think! Live long and prosper. :)


End file.
